


Lost in IKEA

by Amebaby, artofsilence



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Cass and Rapunzel have healthy communication challenge, Cassandra is too flustered to function, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hopeful Ending, Hurt/Comfort, IKEA, It's a pretty happy ending, Modern AU, Rapunzel has flaws too y'all, TW: Mentions of abuse, TW: Panic Attacks, cassunzel rights baby, ikea au, one of those "complete the story games" turned fanfic, she just wants to go home is that too much to ask, this is not a horror story, we pulled this out of our asses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 06:00:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24279991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amebaby/pseuds/Amebaby, https://archiveofourown.org/users/artofsilence/pseuds/artofsilence
Summary: Cassandra is just another underpaid retail worker at IKEA who would like nothing more than to go home at the end of her shift. Unfortunately, it's 10 minutes to closing time, and this woman can't seem to pick a curtain.Rated T for swearing
Relationships: Cassandra/Rapunzel (Disney: Tangled)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 136





	1. Curtains

**Author's Note:**

  * For [The Cassunzel Server](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=The+Cassunzel+Server).



> TW: Descriptions of panic attacks

Cassandra exhaled sharply, drumming her fingers on the desk. Her eyes flickered back and forth between the clock and the drapery aisle. Closing time was in 10 minutes, and this girl just could _not_ pick a curtain to save her life. She watched anxiously as the young blonde woman shuffled through each drape, carefully examining the ones that caught her eye–– which seemed to be all of them.

Cassandra glanced over to her left, desperately watching the overhead window. The light was fading, and so was her patience. Streetlamps began to flicker on in the parking lot, and the few remaining cars were on their way out. _Lucky._

As the clock ticked closer to closing time, Cassandra bit her lip nervously. The young woman was painstakingly reading over each and every label, clucking disapprovingly at one pattern, _‘oooh’_ -ing at a nearly identical one. As if that wasn’t enough, Cass wasn’t even sure she knew her way back to the entrance. 

She was usually very thorough about knowing her terrain, even in the little gas station shops she’d worked in the past. But she’d been busy this week, and hadn’t given herself time to learn her space. She stared aimlessly at the ceiling, and shook her head as the endless maze of pipes began to blur together.

She returned her gaze to the young woman. She was _still_ browsing through the curtains, seemingly unaware of the time. Cassandra hated dealing with customers like this, but it was getting late and she wanted to go home. And, though she would never admit it, a childlike anxiety coursed through her veins at the thought of being trapped in this godforsaken warehouse. She twisted her watch between her fingers, trying to summon the energy to approach the girl.

 _Crash!_ A shiver bolted down Cassandra’s spine at the sound. One by one, the fluorescent lights gleaming overhead began to shut down. Each massive _bang!_ set her nerves on edge, and she glanced again at the girl in the aisle. Maybe she’d gotten the hint––?

Nope, she was still browsing, as if all the world had vanished beyond the display before her. Cassandra jumped as another light slammed itself into darkness. Her patience had finally run out. She plastered a false smile on her face, and strode over to the young woman.

“Miss, it looks like we’re at closing time! Have you found what you needed?” Cassandra pleaded, a twitch starting in her eye.

“I think I’ve finally found the right color… Ah yes! This is it!” The woman cheered. She pulled out her curtains of choice, and happily draped them over her arm.

Cassandra smiled tersely. “Awesome! I’m glad you found what you were looking for, miss. Do you know your way to the exit?”

The girl blinked owlishly at her, and Cassandra felt her heart sink. “I….I don’t think so. Maybe….that way?” She pointed vaguely to the left.

Cassandra decided to go with it. “I think that’s it. Do you need help with anything else?”

The girl’s expression lit up. “Actually, I was hoping you could help me find this specific color of green. I decided to go with #692, but what I was _really_ looking for was #695….”

Cassandra blanched, and fumbled for words. “I don’t know a whole lot about colors, miss….”

“Oh, I’m sure it won’t take long. Maybe you could punch the number into your computer?”

Cassandra suppressed a flinch, and held her smile. “Of course.”

She guided the customer into the darkening aisle, hoping she still knew the route to the nearest store computer. She squinted in the gloom. _Right, left, left, straight….no. Left again?_

Cassandra shook her head. “Those curtains better be important,” she mumbled.

The young woman didn’t notice, still squinting at the label on her curtains. Her nose scrunched up in a way that Cassandra found oddly fascinating. She shook her head out and looked away, but something felt off.

Was it just her, or was the girl glancing her way every few seconds? Cassandra allowed herself to get caught up in her thoughts. They walked at a brisk pace for a few minutes, and Cassandra refused the urge to snap at the girl to keep up. She stared resolutely at the floor, refusing to look up and see the dystopian haze which had settled over the warehouse.

After a while, she came to the abrupt realization that she didn’t know where she was going anymore. Looking up at her surroundings, Cassandra discovered they had somehow ended up in a model bedroom–– definitely not where they needed to be. _Why hadn’t the customer said anything?_ To her dismay, the woman seemed quite undisturbed by the detour. She bounced childishly as she spied the long row of overstuffed mattresses.

“Oh I just **_have_ ** to try some of these!” She cheered, and Cassandra could feel her sanity draining away by the second.

“Miss–– Miss, please don’t––”

The girl laughed loudly as she rolled across the beds, and Cassandra sighed. As annoying as it was, the girl’s giggling helped dispel the horrible quiet of the warehouse.

“Wait a minute!” the girl bolted upright. “All this time and I haven’t even given you my name! I’m Rapunzel!”

“....Cassandra.”

Rapunzel reached out her hand to shake, and Cassandra accepted hesitantly. She was barely keeping herself together at this point. _My customer service mode is_ **_not_ ** _supposed to be on at this hour._ She jumped as Rapunzel rolled away, continuing her rampage through the beds. 

Cassandra walked along the row like an exasperated dog walker as Rapunzel somersaulted across the mattresses. The aisle seemed to go on forever. Cassandra felt her anxiety mounting as the sky outside continued to darken. Finally, Rapunzel tumbled off the last mattress and landed silently on her feet.

“Woohoo!” She cheered. 

Cassandra winced as her voice echoed through the silent warehouse. “Please hurry, miss,” she muttered.

“Rapunzel!” The woman blurted jovially.

Cassandra frowned. “....please hurry, miss Rapunzel.”

Rapunzel groaned. “Not ‘miss Rapunzel’. Just Rapunzel!”

Cassandra frowned deeper, and looked away as she continued walking. She noticed that Rapunzel wasn’t following anymore. “Miss…?” she asked, turning to look at her charge, who stood in the middle of the aisle with her hands on her hips.

She arched an eyebrow. “It’s Rapunzel.”

Cassandra sighed. “Rapunzel, then.” Her facade began to slip. “ _Please,_ hurry up.”

“Alright, I’m coming. It’s nice to meet you, Cass.”

Cassandra’s spine curled. _Nicknames already?_ Cassandra wasn’t one to cling to tradition, but she had a few firm, unshakeable beliefs about life. And one of those beliefs was that Ikea after hours was _not_ the place to be making friends. “....Likewise,” she huffed, before speeding up.

They came upon the corner, and Cassandra was sure they’d be at the registers. She could play it off as a mistake. _“Oops, looks like we took a wrong turn. Good to meet you, have a nice night.”_ Then she could finally get out of this twilight hellscape. The thought gave her a little burst of energy, and she rounded the corner with Rapunzel on her heels…. Only to find herself back in the drapery aisle.

Rapunzel’s eyes widened, and Cassandra waited anxiously for her jovial facade to drop. But instead of bursting into hysterics, she beelined right toward another curtain rack with a little squeak of delight. Cassandra screamed internally as fear and irritation threatened to overtake her placid exterior. She patted her pockets to make sure they’d have a way out of here… only to find them completely empty. She cursed under her breath as she realized she didn’t bring the keys today. She searched her pockets once more, this time for her phone, before remembering she’d left it in the break room.

“Mi– Rapunzel,” she started, “I don’t have my keys on me, it looks like we’re going to have to find the break room to get my phone.” 

Rapunzel looked… suspiciously okay with that. “That’s fine! Do you know the way?”

Fighting another wave of anxiety–– or was it something else? It felt warmer than usual _––_ Cassandra turned to survey the four hallways they could choose to go down. Each one faded into darkness, and their ends were obscured. Cassandra shuddered, wishing she had her flashlight on her.

“Uh…I’m sure we can find it….” She trailed off, staring down the nearest hall. The landscape looked completely unfamiliar in darkness. _This is why we don’t work in warehouses, Cassandra._

She jumped as she felt something touch her shoulder. She turned to see Rapunzel looking at her intently–– was that concern in her eyes?

“Hey, are you alright?” Rapunzel asked.

Cassandra’s pride swelled up over everything else, and she shook the hand off her shoulder. “I’m fine,” she snapped. “Come on, I think it’s this way.”

She grabbed Rapunzel’s hand and marched off down the nearest hallway. She kept her eyes ahead as various furniture loomed into view. 

“You don’t happen to have a flashlight, do you?” She asked tentatively, peering at her companion.

“Nope, sorry!” Rapunzel sounded _far_ too cheery for their current circumstances. 

A bird chirped from somewhere in the black abyss of the vaulted ceiling, and the sound echoed through the warehouse. In a fit of nerves, Cassandra veered away from the noise and into another hallway. _The one time I forget to bring my flashlight. Typical._

She continued to turn corners, picking vaguely familiar intersections and hoping they’d lead her somewhere useful. Rapunzel, meanwhile, was being….Rapunzel. 

“Wow, it’s really dark in here,” she observed.

“No kidding,” Cassandra bit out.

“It’s kinda cool–– I don’t think I’ve ever been in a warehouse at night!” Cassandra turned to look at her, baffled by the wonderment in her eyes. Did this girl have no concept of self-preservation?

“I bet you’ve been in dark warehouses a bunch of times,” Rapunzel rambled. 

“Once or twice.”

“Only once or twice? Why not more?”

Cassandra bristled. “Can we stop talking about this, please?”

“Oh, okay.” Rapunzel’s voice tapered off, and Cassandra felt a prick of guilt at having dampened her mood. She quickly shook it off.

“If I could just find–– damn it!” She cursed as they turned the corner, straight into a hall full of model kitchens. The walls formed a maze, and the path branched off in fifty million directions. She became aware that she was crushing Rapunzel’s hand, and quickly dropped it in favor of running her fingers through her hair.

Rapunzel seemed to finally have sensed her mood. “Cass, are you okay?”

“I’m fine!” Cassandra looked around for an exit sign–– they were _everywhere_ in this building; glowing red and impossible to miss. Why did she keep walking down aisles that didn’t have them?

She started shifting on her feet nervously. “I don’t–– god, I don’t think I’ve ever even _been here before._ Of **course** I forget to read the map _just this once._ ”

“Cass, maybe we should sit down?” Rapunzel sounded concerned now, and Cassandra bristled angrily at her tone.

“I am _fine._ Everything….is…. _fine._ ” The rogue bird chose that moment to call out again, and Cassandra’s hands spasmed. She tore angrily at her hair, squeezing her eyes shut. Stupid warehouse, stupid bird, stupid _Cassandra._ Why did she forget a flashlight tonight? She _always_ brought one. This _one time,_ she left it in her truck. The one night when she actually needed it, she didn’t have it. Typical. Absolutely _typical._

“We just need to get _out of here!_ ” She cried, scratching violently at the back of her neck.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Rapunzel grabbed her arms and pulled them away from her face. “Why don’t we sit down, Cass?”

“We don’t have _time_ to sit down!” She was yelling now, and the echoes of her own voice reverberated in her head.

“Yes, we do, Cass.” Rapunzel pulled back toward the wall, keeping her voice calm and low. Cassandra hated that voice. “We have all the time in the world, okay? There’s no one else here. Let’s just sit down and breathe for a moment.”

“But–”

“No buts. Come here.”

Rapunzel lowered herself to the ground, pulling Cassandra with her. Her shaking legs betrayed her, and she went down faster than she cared to admit. The two of them sat with their backs against the wall, and Cassandra buried her head in her knees to block out the darkness. Of course, she was only met with the darkness of her lap, but it was much kinder than the cold, empty blackness of the warehouse.

She felt Rapunzel’s arms wrap around her shoulders and shivered under the touch. Still, it was better than being alone. Anything was better than being alone in the dark. Well, not anything. Almost anything.

“–Cass? Hey, can you hear me?” 

Cassandra blinked, but didn’t respond. Had she zoned out? How long had she been out of it? She felt Rapunzel rubbing her back. She was saying something–– Cassandra’s ears didn’t bother to process that something. It was infuriating. Her blood pounded beneath her skin, and she dragged in a shuddering breath as black spots danced in her eyes.

It might have been a few minutes, or hours–– maybe even seconds. Time was fluid in the darkness, and it sped up in the heat of her terror. Eventually though, her throat began to reopen and the muscles in her ears regained functionality.

Rapunzel seemed to sense the change, because she started talking again. “There you are,” she said, and Cassandra pulled in another breath. “Hey, Cass?” She asked, still rubbing her back.

Cassandra coughed in response.

“Can you hear me now?”

Cassandra nodded, very slightly. The muscles in her legs began to relax into bonelessness, shivering in their exhaustion. 

“Okay,” Rapunzel mused. “What’s something you can see?”

Cassandra frowned. Her breath hitched as she looked for something, _anything_ that wasn’t just _black––_

“If you can’t find anything, that’s okay,” Rapunzel said softly. “How about something you can feel?”

That….that was doable. “....You,” Cassandra muttered.

Rapunzel chuckled, and Cassandra felt it through her starchy cotton shirt. “....And this uniform itches,” she complained.

“There’s two things,” Rapunzel giggled. “How about one more?”

Cassandra thought about that. “....It’s really fucking cold in here.” Her voice trailed off into a cough.

“Well, you’re not wrong. Do they really keep the AC on at night?”

Cassandra coughed out a chuckle. “Y-yeah, actually. No clue why. Goddamn waste of money if you ask me.”

“I think you’re right,” Rapunzel said, leaning back against the wall. “Those poor birds up there must be freezing,” she added.

“That’s their own fault for flying in,” Cassandra mumbled.

“Cass!” Rapunzel buffeted her shoulder with one hand, but she was still laughing.

“What? I’m right!”

“You’re mean to birds, that’s what you are.”

“Whatever. They have it coming.”

“What did the birds ever do to you?” Rapunzel sounded downright insulted. Cassandra couldn’t help but smile at her.

“You know….you’re not so bad for somebody who spends two hours straight looking at drapes.”

Rapunzel gasped. “ _Excuse you,_ there are _many_ to choose from, and even the slightest difference can make or break a room!”

“You an interior designer or something?” Cassandra asked.

“As a matter of fact, I am.”

“Oh.” Cassandra bit her lip, looking for something else to say. “....Nice.”

Rapunzel smiled and bumped her shoulder, knocking Cassandra off balance. “Hey, what do you say? You think we can keep looking for a way out?”

Cassandra leaned her head back against the wall. “We’re trapped forever,” she moaned.

“Don’t be like that,” Rapunzel chuckled. “We’ll get out eventually.”

Cassandra wiped her eyes and blushed when she realized they were wet. She felt all the nervous energy drain out of her body, leaving her with no particular desire to do anything but sit here. And maybe sleep. Sleep would be good. But Rapunzel was already up, and holding out a hand for her to take. She smiled hopefully, and Cassandra tried to hide her blush as she accepted the help.

Rapunzel pulled her to her feet and helped steady her on shaky legs. Cassandra took a look around. The darkness seemed less threatening now that her head was in order. She scanned the pattern of the hallways. This… this was familiar…She knew this area! She knew the route to the break room from here!

“I… I know where we are!” Cassandra said, feeling a small light go off in the back of her mind.

“You do?” Rapunzel’s voice lilted hopefully.

Cassandra took Rapunzel by the hand and started leading her in the right direction–– for once. “Yeah. I think there’s a right turn through appliances here, and we should be at the break room.”

“See? You know exactly where you are.” Rapunzel squeezed her hand, and Cassandra chuckled wetly.

“I’m usually not….this bad with navigation,” she admitted.

“Oh?”

“Yeah. Just….flustered, I guess.” Cassandra rubbed the back of her neck and winced when it came away damp. She wiped her red fingers on her shirt, hoping Rapunzel wouldn’t notice.

“Oh? And why is that?” Rapunzel asked, eyes half-lidded. Cassandra looked away, completely unprepared for that look. 

“I guess dark, creepy buildings just kinda do that to me.” 

Rapunzel paused for a moment before gently squeezing her hand. “....You’re afraid of the dark.”

_Shit._


	2. False Light

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: mentions of abuse

Cassandra felt panic rising in the back of her head again. Not even her dad knew about…. that. She’d spent years coming up with careful cover stories for her avoidance habits. She slept with the light on because she forgot to turn it off. She carried a flashlight around in case she needed to work on her truck’s engine. She wouldn’t go into a room without turning the lights on first because of an old habit. Nobody ever suspected a thing, and she had hoped to keep it that way forever.

But here was Rapunzel, a girl she’d met less than two hours ago, staring at her with those knowing eyes that seemed to have stripped her to her core already. Cassandra swallowed and searched frantically for a way out of this conversation. They rounded the next corner with perfect timing, and she spotted the glittering green _‘EMPLOYEES ONLY’_ sign which hung over the break room door. 

“Ohoh! Wouldya look at that! We made it!” She gripped the doorknob, internally cursing her sweaty hands. Upon opening the door, she immediately palmed the light switches, flicking them all on at once. A quiet buzzing noise filled the stuffy room as it was bathed in a warm glow. Cassandra eyed her phone, which was lying right where she’d left it on a battered cardboard box. She quickly ran over to it and pressed the unlock button. Just as she was beginning to feel hopeful again, a white lightning bolt symbol flashed once, twice, three times across the screen.

It was dead. Of _course_ it was dead! Because everything had been going so perfectly tonight already!

“Rapunzel, _please_ tell me you have a charger?” Cass implored.

“Well…., I don’t have a charger, but my phone is charged!”

“This whole time?” Cassandra’s eye twitched.

“Yup!” Rapunzel pulled an ancient silver flip-phone out of her pocket, wiggling it in front of her face happily. Cassandra sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose.

“Well that _would_ be helpful, but I don’t actually know my coworkers’ numbers, Rapunzel.”

“Well that’s okay! Maybe I can call my– oh.”

Cassandra groaned. “Let me guess. Yours is dead too.”

Rapunzel smiled sheepishly.

 _I guess we’re still stuck here then._ Cassandra plopped down on the stiff leather couch and proceeded to bury her face in her palms. Not only was she _trapped_ with a girl she barely knew; she was trapped with a girl she’d just broken down in front of. A girl she’d just revealed her _biggest_ secret to. The back of her neck started to itch, and she hoped the blood wasn’t running into her collar.

“God, I’m sorry for dragging you into this,” Cassandra mumbled.

Rapunzel settled down beside her. “You didn’t drag me into anything, Cass. You were just trying to help me.”

“I didn’t have to go and freak out like that though. It was unprofessional. My apologies.”

Rapunzel laughed, and the sound reverberated through the room. “Cass, does _any_ of this seem professional to you?”

The hilarity of their situation finally struck, and Cassandra joined in with her own, more subdued laughter. “I guess not, huh?”

For a while they just sat and laughed together; laughed at the absurdity of their whole situation. Two strangers trapped in Ikea with no way out. It was like something out of a shitty romance novel. Eventually, Cassandra’s exhaustion settled over her like a cloud. She curled up in the corner of the couch. If they were deciding to be unprofessional, they might as well go all in.

“You want a shitty cup of coffee?” She offered, gesturing vaguely to a machine in the corner which somewhat resembled a coffee maker. A few dirty mugs were scattered on the counter beside it.

“....I think I’ll pass, thanks.”

“Fair enough.”

Rapunzel stretched out as well, resting her feet on a wobbly, dented semblance of a coffee table. For a moment they lapsed into silence, and Cassandra allowed her eyes to close as she rested against the pillows. She felt Rapunzel’s gaze on her, but couldn’t summon the energy to care.

“....Hey Cass?” Rapunzel asked.

“Hmm?”

“Why are you afraid of the dark?”

Cassandra coughed, and her eyes bolted open. “I….I never said I was,” she defended, averting her eyes. 

“Cass.” There was something about Rapunzel’s voice that got to her. Cassandra looked up and met her wide green eyes. She hadn’t previously been aware that a human could make such a soft expression. She felt a blush creeping up on her cheeks, and looked away again.

“It’s okay to have fears, you know,” Rapunzel said softly. “I know this is going to sound pretty crazy, but up until I was 18 I’d never been outside my house.”

Cassandra looked up in shock. “Really?”

“Yeah, really. And when I finally got out, I was afraid of _so_ many things. I remember being almost too nervous to walk on grass.” Rapunzel giggled, lost in memories. “But you know what? I did it….and I found out that grass blades _really_ itch. And they cut up your feet.”

Cassandra chuckled at her blatantly anti-saccharine description.

“ _But_ ,” Rapunzel elaborated, “I also discovered a piece of the world I’d never seen before. That first touch of grass was the gateway to my freedom. I never looked back after that.”

Cassandra thought about that for a moment, chewing her bottom lip nervously. Well, if Rapunzel was willing to be open with her….

“I….didn’t have a great childhood, okay? My mother was….well, kind of a piece of shit. She left me home alone in the basement a lot. Sometimes for days. A-and it was a long time ago, like a really long time ago. I barely even remember it. But….dark buildings just….they still get to me sometimes. I guess.” 

Cassandra looked away, and jumped when she felt Rapunzel’s hand rest atop her own. “Thank you for telling me, Cass.”

Cassandra blushed fiercely. “Y-yeah. Uh, same to you, Raps.”

“Raps?” Rapunzel asked, and Cassandra panicked. 

“Uh, I mean, yeah, I guess. B-but if you don’t want me to call you that––”

“No, no,” Rapunzel rubbed circles on the back of her hand with her thumb. “I love it. No one’s ever called me that before.”

Cassandra arched an eyebrow. “Really? That’s like….the most uncreative nickname I could choose.”

Rapunzel giggled. “I think it’s fitting.”

Cassandra scrunched up her nose. “Are you calling me uncreative, Raps?”

Rapunzel snorted. “Well. You _do_ have a matte black phone case.”

“W-what? What does that have to do with anything?” Cassandra blustered. “It’s _practical_!”

Rapunzel doubled over, and her laughter vibrated in the folds of the cardboard–lined walls. Cassandra flushed in irritation. She opened her mouth, prepared to defend the honor of her dusty black phone case, but Rapunzel beat her to it.

“You know, you’re cute when you’re flustered.”

Any response Cassandra may have previously prepared was instantly blown out of her mind. “I– what? No I– _what?_ ”

“Yeah, like that!” Rapunzel giggled. 

Cassandra turned away, crossing her arms. “I am not cute.”

Rapunzel arched an eyebrow. “You’re literally pouting.”

“Have you ever had to deal with a pouting child, Rapunzel? It’s not cute.”

“Are you implying that you’re a child?”

Cassandra felt her face flushing hotter by the second. “What? No! But I mean, _look_ at me.” She gestured to her frazzled hair. “I am not cute. Cute is like…. like flowers and sunshine and….and _you._ ”

Rapunzel giggled. “You think I’m cute?”

Cassandra realized her slip too late. “N-no I don’t,” she tried to correct her mistake, but she couldn’t go back now. “....maybe.”

The soft look Rapunzel gave her was almost worth the terrifying amount of vulnerability she’d displayed tonight. Rapunzel gently placed her hand on Cassandra’s, squeezing it lightly.

“Maybe… Maybe this won’t be such a long night after all.” Rapunzel looked up at her hopefully, and Cassandra met her gaze. Rapunzel’s green eyes were hazy, lost in a film of industrial yellow light. Cassandra found herself wondering how they would look in the sunlight, free of the misty artificial afterglow.

Cassandra didn’t know how long she stared, but it was long enough for the moment to get awkward. She cleared her throat and started to turn away. “So….” she muttered, bristling in the thick silence.

“So…. what?” Rapunzel asked, her voice almost a whisper. Cassandra could feel her breath against her face, and the strange tension in the room swelled. Whatever disastrous attempt she might’ve made at responding was cut off abruptly by a loud metallic banging outside the door.

Both girls jumped, and Cassandra’s arm shot out in front of Rapunzel. The doors flew open with a loud groan, accompanied by a litany of discontented muttering as a large man sidled into the room. Cassandra exhaled and sank back into the cushions. She recognized that white beard. Xavier, one of the janitors. Of course! He would be making his rounds now. He turned around, eyes wide with surprise at the sight of them. Cassandra blushed deeply, knowing how this must look. Here she was, in the break room after hours, sitting close enough to a customer to be touching shoulders. She quickly pushed herself up off the couch.

“Cass….?” Rapunzel reached out to stop her, but Cassandra’s vision was tunneling. She hurriedly strode out the door, red as a beet. She got about fifteen feet into the hallway before she became aware of the crushing darkness and froze. 

_Oh hell._ Rapunzel was still in there. She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. Tempting as it was, she couldn’t just leave the poor thing in the musty break room with Xavier. He’d bore her to death before the monsters in the dark ever got a chance. 

She took a breath, turned on her heel, and hesitantly reentered the room. Rapunzel and Xavier were staring at her quizzically. Cassandra furrowed her eyebrows at the floor and cleared her throat. “Uh… Evening, Xavier.”

A heavy silence took control of the room, and Cassandra stood like a deer in headlights. Finally, Rapunzel decided to be brave. She stood from the couch, smoothing out her skirt. “Hello!” She beamed, waving brightly.

Xavier smiled, and…. was that a _wink?_ Cassandra narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

Rapunzel returned the gesture, and Cassandra wasn’t sure if that was more or less perturbing. She was snapped from her from her thoughts as Rapunzel approached, ghosting a hand across her shoulder.

“Hey, why don’t we ask about leaving?” She whispered.

“Oh right, yes. Yeah. Of course. Wait. Why can’t you….?” She froze for another few moments, and Rapunzel squeezed her shoulder again. Xavier's eyebrow crept up toward his hairline as he waited. Finally, Cassandra startled into action and cleared her throat. “…Hey Xavier?” 

Rapunzel snorted, and Cassandra flushed.

Xavier chuckled, shaking his head and wiping his hands on a rag. “You ladies aren’t the first ones to find yourselves in this situation, you know,” he drawled. “This warehouse is an easy place to get lost in. There are many twists and turns to navigate. Learning them takes time and patience…. And perhaps Ariadne’s thread would not be amiss.” He chuckled, slinging the rag over his shoulder. “Come with me.” 

Cassandra was preparing to follow him, when her instincts kicked violently into action like a sticky gear shift. She stopped in her tracks, ignoring Rapunzel’s attempts to pull her along. “Wait a minute. How did you know we were lost?”

Xavier paused. “Losing your way in the aisles is not an unusual occurrence. I myself have done it many times before. Once, several years ago, I was attempting to teach Feldspar how to find the–”

“I’m an _employee_ , Xavier. You don’t just _assume_ that employees don’t know their way. And don’t think I didn’t notice that weird little wink thing you just did– you’re hiding something from me!” Cassandra narrowed her eyes at the two of them, and her suspicion only mounted as they glanced at each other nervously.

“Cass, We’ve met before. I mean, I do come here pretty often,” Rapunzel giggled, but her voice sounded nervous.

Cassandra cut her eyes between them and chose the easiest victim. “Spill it, Xavier,” she growled. He fumbled for a response.

“Wait!” Rapunzel began, diverting Cassandra’s attention. “Don’t….don’t blame him. I may have…. sort of…. planned this?” 

Cassandra’s jaw clenched. “You _what?_ ”

“Cass, I– I can explain,” she stuttered. “I do come here a lot, and I’ve seen you working around and I just…”

Cassandra’s fists curled at her sides. “You just _what_?”

“Well, I guess I kinda thought you were, how do I put it, adorable?” It was now Rapunzel’s turn to blush. “And I…. may have set this up as a chance to talk to you?”

Cassandra froze. Her face grew hotter by the second as her brain tried to process what she'd just heard. Everything she’d had to do for this girl– everything she’d been forced to feel and _remember_ – it was all a setup? For a moment, she couldn’t even find words. And then, she had too many to hold.

“Rapunzel, I can’t _believe_ you!”

Rapunzel flinched at her tone. 

Cassandra ran her hands through her hair. “Actually wait, yes I can. _I barely know you!_ Why shouldn’t I believe this?” She spat. 

“I only wanted to–”

“Only wanted to _what?_ Hang out and bond over curtain colors? And you didn’t think to– I don’t know– _ask me?_ ”

“Cass, I just–”

“You just _nothing_ . I’m going home, and it’s time you did too. Xavier, could you _please_ show us the way out?”

“It seems to me that a proper conversation is in order–”

“Can it, Xavier. There’s nothing to discuss.” 

“Cass–”

Cassandra cut Rapunzel off with a glare. “Come on, _miss_.” Her words elicited exactly the stung expression she hoped they would.

Xavier grabbed his keys, seeing the battle was lost, and started off towards the door with the two young women close behind him. Cassandra stared ahead, twisting her watch aggressively and refusing to acknowledge Rapunzel, who walked just behind her. She couldn’t believe she’d actually been naive enough to trust a _stranger._ Was she really that desperate for a friend? Was she really that pathetic?

Her exhaustion compounded with each new addition to her mental spiral, and she took to picking at the half-dried scabs on the back of her neck. The pain grounded her, and kept her focused on their goal. Unfortunately, Rapunzel chose that moment to feel guilty.

“I wasn’t trying to trick you, Cass.” Her voice was low and quiet, with none of the usual liveliness behind it.

“I don’t care.” Cassandra growled. She scratched aggressively at the back of her neck, and hissed as the congealed scabs tore off like glue and embedded themselves under her fingernails. Her hands came away red. Rapunzel noticed.

“Whoa, Cass, what–” Rapunzel reached out, and Cassandra pulled away. 

“Don’t touch me,” she snarled. 

Rapunzel lowered her hands, looking hurt. Her voice broke to a whisper. “Cass–”

“Here we are,” Xavier said, his voice deep and languid even now. They were stopped in front of one of the many back entrances. Cassandra had never been so happy to see one of those ominous red exit signs. Xavier rested a strong hand on Cassandra’s shoulder. “I do not think it would be wise to–”

Cassandra shoved him off. “Don’t act like you didn’t help start this mess,” she hissed.

Xavier sighed and opened the door. Cassandra bolted out into the misty orange light of the street lamps and breathed in the night air. It wasn’t sweet by any means; tainted with the oily industrial scents of the warehouse, but it was crisp and fresh. She spared one last glance at Rapunzel, who was speaking with Xavier in the doorway. 

Cassandra huffed and turned away. That girl didn’t deserve a proper goodbye. Not anymore. So why did every step towards her truck feel like she was dragging lead weights? She twisted a silver key in the lock on the ancient clanker's door handle, peeking inside to check for….something. What was she even afraid of?

After carefully scanning the backseat, she stepped up into the driver’s seat and slammed the door. The truck shivered under her weight, and the pair of dice dangling from her mirror clicked wildly together. Her military-grade flashlight was lying innocently on the ground, mocking her. Cassandra fired up the engine and shot out of the lot at a speed that was likely too fast to be legal. 

As soon as she was on the road, Cassandra leaned back against the headrest and exhaled. Her mind and body were exhausted, and she wasn’t sure if she was in the mood to collapse on her bed and cry, or challenge God to a swordfight on the balcony of her apartment. Neither of those options particularly enthused her. The wound on her neck stung, and she searched in vain for a cloth or tissue to wrap around it. 

The truck squeaked up to a stoplight and jerked to a halt. Cassandra measured her breaths and rested her forehead against the steering wheel as her body slowly melted. Why did she still feel like there was something missing….? She frowned and, keeping her eyes on the stoplight, palmed the crevice where she usually stored her–

…. _I forgot my fucking phone._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The angst has arrived >:-3


	3. Reconciliation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Mentions of abuse

**_BEEP BEEP BEEP BEE-_ **

_ Click. _

“Yeah, yeah, I’m awake. Fuck off.”

Cassandra huffed and pulled herself into an upright position, blissfully thoughtless as the last misty tendrils of sleep clung to her consciousness. Eventually though, the dream-haze faded and reality came into focus. The previous night’s events rushed back to her, settling on her shoulders like a heavy yoke. 

Cassandra groaned and dragged a hand down her face, wincing at the pasty texture of her skin. She shifted into a light stretch, and her very bones seemed to protest the movement. She hazily remembered coming home the night before, wrapping a bandage around her neck and crashing onto the bed. A quick glance at her haggard uniform told her she hadn’t even bothered to change. She’d slept through the whole night dreamlessly, but somehow felt as if she hadn’t rested at all. 

Cassandra wiggled her legs experimentally, and her muscles twinged as if they had been nailed to the mattress. After a few moments of rallying her energy, Cassandra dragged herself off the bed. As soon as her feet touched the ground, there came a massive thumping noise from the living room. A scrabbling flurry of clicking nails echoed through the hall, and Cassandra barely had time to brace herself before Fidella burst through the door, crashing into her chest with all the force of a speeding dump truck.

Cassandra cried out as she was thrown back and buried under a mountain of fur. Fidella scrambled over her limp body and rolled onto the bed, tail swinging faster than a helicopter blade. Cassandra groaned again, attempting to reorient herself after the assault. Usually she appreciated her newfoundland’s energy, but this morning she just wanted to be left alone. Fidella wasn’t normally this excitable in the morning, but a quick glance at the clock told Cassandra it was an hour past her usual feeding time. She’d slept in.  _ Damn. _

“Alright, alright.” Cassandra heaved herself off the mattress for a second time, and her body stiffened in complaint. Fidella took a flying leap off the bed, leaving the white comforter a tangled wreck. She skidded on the floor, narrowly avoiding a collision with the wall before  _ tap-tap-tapping _ her way to the kitchen. Cassandra sighed, sparing a glance at her destroyed bed before deciding it wasn’t worth it. She wrapped her arms around herself as a meager shield against the chill, then shuffled after her monstrosity of a dog.

When Cassandra arrived in her tiny excuse of a kitchen, Fidella was dancing eagerly by the cabinet. Cassandra shoved her out of the way with all the strength she could muster, kneeling down and dragging the kibble bin out onto the floor. She grabbed Fidella’s bowl and scooped up a large helping, setting it back down on its mat. With Fidella now occupied, Cassandra put the bin away and stood up slowly, muscles aching with a sort of heavy dread. The sun was barely up and her whole body already felt sore. 

Owl clicked at her from his perch across the room, bobbing his head up and down with a jealous look in his eye. His umbrella popped up, and Cassandra slowly made her way over to give her cockatoo some scratches. “Hoo, hoo,” he mumbled, and Cassandra huffed out a dry semblance of a chuckle. Of all the affectionate mutterings he could’ve picked up, he chose to copy an owl that lived in the tree outside. It was fitting, she supposed.

“Hoo–hoo to you too, buddy.”

With the animals more or less satisfied, Cassandra found herself achingly alone with her thoughts. She sat down heavily at the table, resting her head in her arms as she waited for her brain’s defense mechanisms against emotional nonsense to kick in. Her memories of yesterday were hazy at best, but she remembered all too clearly the emotional roller coaster which she was now suffering the aftereffects of. To think she’d actually been starting to like Rap– that girl. 

“Ugh. What was I thinking, Owl?” She glanced up at the bird, who didn’t seem to have an answer for her.

Cassandra thought that after 22 years of being on this planet, she would’ve figured out not to trust random strangers she met in IKEA. Especially friendly strangers. At least she knew that assholes weren’t trying to manipulate her. She shook her head and looked up at the clock, gritting her teeth as she noticed the time. She had all of 20 minutes before she had to leave for work. For a brief moment, she considered calling in sick. Her brain felt murky and her limbs protested her every movement. The very thought of breakfast made her nauseous. That counted as illness, right?

_ No. _ She wouldn’t let some random girl she’d known for a maximum of three hours ruin her track record with the warehouse barely a week into the job. She glanced down at her rumpled uniform, frowning at its meager condition. She didn’t even have time to iron it, much less wash it. She didn’t know how long she sat there, staring despondently at her wrinkled pants. Her father had always told her that ‘you’ve gotta be a special kind of tired to fall asleep in jeans’. 

Owl screeched, and Cassandra jumped at the sound. He was dangling upside down on a rope perch, glaring at her.

Cassandra winced. “I know, I know. I’m going.” She attempted to file her thoughts away, only really succeeding in stuffing random papers into painfully overstuffed folders. It worked well enough, and she pushed herself off the counter to go brush her hair.

The sight in Cassandra’s mirror was about as flattering as she’d expected it to be; or in other words, not very. Her eyes were sunken and hollow; her greasy hair was matted on the top of her head. Dry trails of blood had smudged her skin and remained resolute even as she rubbed at them experimentally with a towel. Her lips were dry and her skin pale as death. Cassandra’s watch told her she had ten minutes left, so she decided to forgo any efforts to look  _ good _ and just aim for  _ passable _ .

It took a collective nine minutes for Cassandra to run a comb through her sticky hair, wipe the blood from her neck and re-apply her bandage; pop her collar, smooth out her ugly striped polo shirt, and clumsily apply some chapstick. She still looked like the walking dead, but at least she didn’t look like she’d been dragged half a mile by a street sweeper and spat out in a ditch. 

Cassandra grabbed her coat and fumbled for her keys on the table. 

“Owl, hold down the fort.” The cockatoo clicked, bobbing his head up and down.

Cassandra spared a stroke for Fidella, then bolted out of her apartment. She locked the door once, twice, three times out of sheer paranoia, then hastened down the grungy hall towards the parking garage.  _ Ten seconds to spare.  _ The movement helped her refocus, and by the time she’d reached her truck, Cassandra almost felt like a human being again. 

Dread flashed through her and her fingers hesitated on the door handle as she contemplated the possibility of running into Rapunzel again. The girl was an interior designer, after all. She probably came into the store fairly often. Cassandra shook her head. That was probably another lie, just like everything else that girl had told her. She tightened her grip on the handle and sat down hard in the driver’s seat. Rapunzel would  _ not _ ruin her day. Cassandra had wasted too many years letting betrayal and constant disrespect eat away at her defenses and destroy her self-esteem. She wasn’t about to let it happen again.

* * *

“You’re late, Cassandra!”

Cassandra repressed a groan as she walked stiffly through the break room door, fiercely locking away her threatening hysteria. “Late by one minute, Ethel,” she bit out.

“One minute is the same as one hour!” The older woman chided. She seemed to be in a habit of delivering condescending one-liners, and her singsong voice grated on Cassandra’s nerves.

“Yeah, yeah, give me detention and send me to class already,” she mumbled, hanging her coat up and smoothing her shirt. Her hair was ruffled from the sharp breeze outside, but that wasn’t a problem she could fix in five seconds, so she ignored it. Cassandra looked around, letting out a breath of relief as she noticed her phone lying right where she’d left it. She scooped it up off the overturned cardboard box, purposefully averting her eyes from the sofa. The cushions were still displaced from last night.

Cassandra felt a prickling sensation on her spine and whipped around to see Ethel staring at her. “What?” She snapped.

The woman curled her lip, looking her up and down as if trying to comprehend every haggard detail of Cassandra’s appearance. “What happened to you?” She finally asked.

Cassandra sighed. “I don’t have time for this; I’ve gotta go set up. Good morning to you too, by the way.” She flung open the door and stomped out into the crafting aisle before Ethel had a chance to respond. She set her jaw and mentally braced herself for the day. If there was one thing Cassandra was good at, it was churning her exhaustion into determination like a mill wheel turns water into energy. It was a skill that had gotten her through many rough patches, and it would get her through this one, too.

* * *

“Have a lovely day, sir.” Cassandra carefully folded a pile of red felt and handed it off to the customer. He tipped his baseball cap to her and bundled off with his absurdly large bolt of bright red fabric. Cassandra was no expert, but she was positive that shade of red didn’t look good with anything. Still, she supposed it was less weird than the woman who’d bought three hundred dollars’ worth of curtain tassels. She dusted off her workstation and forced herself to move on. The next bolt of fabric had already been laid down.

“Hi, how can I–  _ Oh. _ ” Cassandra’s eyes widened before dropping into a harsh glare at the girl who stood before her. Out of all the dozens– no,  _ hundreds– _ of people in this warehouse, it had to be  _ her _ .

“So… I take it you’re still mad at me?” Rapunzel’s bright green eyes gazed up at her, her face set in an expression one would expect to see on a kicked puppy rather than a master manipulator. 

Cassandra glowered at her. “How many yards?”

“...What?”

“How many yards?” Cassandra aggressively shook a corner of the fabric.

Rapunzel jolted. “Oh! Uh, four.”

Cassandra grabbed her scissors and slit the bolt of cloth in a clean, straight line.

“L-listen, about last night.”

_ Oh no. _

“I-I get it. I’d probably be mad at me too,” Rapunzel said. “Can we just….talk, for a minute?”

Cassandra picked up the cloth and shook it harshly, allowing the extra fuzz to blow in Rapunzel’s face. “You know I could probably have a restraining order placed on you, right?”

“I know. I just… I guess I wanted to explain myself and apologize. And if you’re still mad at me when I’m done, I  _ promise  _ I’ll never bother you again.”

Cassandra slowly put down her scissors. “Fine. You get one minute.”

Rapunzel bit her lip. “I just… I did some thinking last night. A lot of thinking. A-about what I did. I guess I thought it’d be fun, or something. We could wander through the store and get to know each other for a bit while the sun went down. Maybe browse through the aisles in the quiet and talk. Ridiculous, I know. And I  _ never _ would have done it if I knew about your fear. I shouldn’t have done it at all.”

Cassandra toyed with her scissors.

Rapunzel surged on. “A-anyway, you remember what I said last night about not leaving my house for eighteen years?”

Cassandra nodded.

“Well… It wasn’t exactly because I didn’t  _ want _ to leave the house. I guess my childhood wasn’t… amazing… either. Mothe––the woman who raised me wasn’t the best at teaching me how to communicate… openly.” Rapunzel twisted her hands in the straps of her purse. “But I  _ know _ that’s not an excuse. I guess I’m just trying to say, I’m sorry. For everything. Sometimes I get so caught up in planning the perfect scheme to get someone to like me that… that I forget all I really have to do is go up and talk to them.”

Cassandra sighed, and her fingers drifted away from the scissors. “Listen, Rapunzel. I’m not going to pretend that what you did didn’t hurt me. Heck, last night was a nightmare scenario for me. I haven’t been that scared in a  _ really _ long time. I’m still exhausted, and I’m not ready to forgive you.”

She noticed Rapunzel’s wilting expression and cleared her throat. “ _ But _ , I guess I can’t really judge you for the ‘trouble communicating’ part. I’m not exactly a stellar conversationalist either. I’m… blunt. Dad always said I was too honest for my own good.” She toyed with the frayed edges of the cloth.

“I don’t think that’s a bad thing,” Rapunzel said, and Cassandra shot her a look.

“Tell that to the wide array of people who hate me. What I’m trying to say is… I get it. I guess. We’re both a little fucked up inside, huh?”

Rapunzel giggled. “Well I guess that’s… One way to put it. I prefer to say we’ve got some… extra things to work on.”

“I think I’ll stick with my version, thanks.” Cassandra smiled, rubbing the fresh bandage on her neck. 

Rapunzel took a deep breath. “Listen, Cass, you have every right to still be angry with me, a-and I’m not asking for a fresh start, or for you to forget what I did. Still, I want to do everything I can to earn your forgiveness. That is if you’ll give me another chance.”

_ Oh, what the hell. _

“Okay.”

Rapunzel’s head shot up and her eyes blew wide. “Okay? Really?”

Cassandra nodded. “Okay.”

For a moment, Rapunzel seemed too stunned to respond. “So… friends?” She finally asked, still uncertain.

Cassandra hesitated for a moment, then tentatively held out her hand for Rapunzel to shake. “Yeah. Friends.” 

Rapunzel took her hand and squeezed it enthusiastically. “I won’t let you down again.”

“I’m counting on it,” Cassandra replied, gently reclaiming her hand.

Rapunzel rolled the fabric on the counter between her fingers. “You know, maybe, if you wanted, I could help you find your…. inner charisma.”

Cassandra chuckled. “I think that’s an impossible project, Rapunzel. But, if we’re talking about social lessons, maybe I could teach you the finer points of the, uh, direct approach.”

“That would be really nice, Cass.” Rapunzel smiled brightly, and Cassandra looked away as her face began to heat up.

“Oh!” Rapunzel bounced in place and pulled a marker from her purse. She reached out to grab Cassandra’s wrist, before pausing and meeting her gaze. “Uhm….may I?”

Cassandra blinked. “Oh. Uh, yeah.” She offered her hand. Rapunzel scribbled a phone number on the underside of her arm. “There. Maybe we can meet up sometime soon.”

Cassandra shot her a look. “Not IKEA again.”

Rapunzel’s eyes sparkled, and she burst out laughing. “ _ God no _ . I think we could use a change of scenery.”

Cassandra chuckled, taking her arm back. “Now that is something we can agree on.”

They lapsed into silence. Cassandra watched the sun dance on the green cloth, noting how similar the color was to Rapunzel’s eyes. She glanced up to see Rapunzel’s steady gaze still fixed on her face, and cleared her throat. 

“So! Do you want this fabric or not?”

Rapunzel jumped. “Oh! Yeah. Yes, I do.”

Cassandra chuckled and passed her the credit card scanner. While Rapunzel busied herself with the buttons, Cassandra folded her fabric.

“You picked a nice pattern,” she observed.

Rapunzel looked up, tucking her card away in her purse. “Oh, thank you! The lady who wants it is  _ very _ particular. You know, it’s the funniest story––”

“Raps?” Cassandra interrupted.

“Hmm?”

“Save it for another time. I’ve still got work to do.” She chuckled and gestured to the rapidly lengthening line of impatient customers.

“Oh! Right.” Rapunzel winked and bundled her cloth in her arms. “See you soon, Cass.”

Cassandra blushed. “Yeah. See you soon, Raps.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank y'all so much for reading!! This was not at all supposed to be what it was originally, but we had a lot of fun working on it! We really hope you enjoyed it!!
> 
> Extra note: We had chapter 3 pretty much done when we posted chapter two, we just wanted to add extra suspense :)


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